Dark Dragon
The Dark Dragon (暗黒竜 Ankokuryū, translated as Shadow Dragon in some fan translations) is both a type of Dragon and an enemy-only class that debuts in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. Acting as the personal class of Medeus in Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem and Gerxel in TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, the Dark Dragon breathes Dark Breath, foul fetid fumes of noxious air, in order to damage its foes. They are the ultimate dragon-based class in all appearances. History in the Series The Dark Dragon is the class Medeus assumes after his resurrection was sped up by Gharnef at the end of Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, New Mystery of the Emblem. Like Earth Dragons, the Dark Dragon uses Dark Breath and halves all damage received. While not an actual unit, the spirit of Loptous that is summoned by the Loptous tome in Genealogy of the Holy War appears to be a Dark Dragon as well, in line with the concept of dragons being worshiped as deities in the game's lore. The Fire Emblem Museum describes Loptous as a Dark Dragon. In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, the Dark Dragon class (ダークドラゴン, fan translated as Pretender God) is also the personal class of Gerxel, the final boss of the game. Rather than being as a member of the Earth Dragon tribe or even a dragon at all, the Dark Dragon in this title is the result of a human drinking the blood of the emiyu Miradona and gaining god-like power with the initial intention of using it to avenge his slaughtered people. Overview Combat In Mystery of the Emblem, the Dark Dragon is immune to all magic damage. The Dark Dragon boosts maximum Strength and HP with high Defense and Resistance. However the class has low Speed and Skill. Through hacking, it can be seen the class has flying type movement. In New Mystery of the Emblem Dark Dragon no longer nullifies magic damage or halves damage received. However, the class now has extremely high Skill and Speed. The Dark Dragon class is one of the two classes able to have HP higher then 60 and its cap is an unmatched 99 HP. Additionally all of its stats, barring Speed, cap be 40, significantly higher then the 30 cap used any by other classes. This makes the Dark Dragon a truly formidable opponent on the game's harder difficulties. Hacking shows the class has infantry movement. Appearance and Characteristics In all appearances, the Shadow Dragon has a dark color scheme with a long serpentine neck and tail. It's reptilian head has finlike protrusions on the side resembling ears and a horn on its snout. Unlike Earth Dragons, it has giant leathery wings. unveiling its full body. ]] In Mystery of the Emblem, the Dark Dragon displays the ability to burrow through the ground much like Earth Dragons. Only in its map sprite does the Dark Dragon occasionally unearth part of its massive body hidden beneath the ground. In Genealogy of the Holy war, the Dark Dragon spirit shown is more black then purple. Interestingly, the artwork of the Dark Dragon class in the TCG seem to depict it as a serpent, while Medeus' appearance in both versions of Mystery of the Emblem is that of a more traditional dragon with six appendages, two wings and four legs. However it is possible this is due to the dragons entire body not being visible in the illustration similar to the Mage and Earth Dragon. In New Mystery of the Emblem, the Dark Dragon appears nearly identical to the original outside of no longer having its lower body underground. In-Game Base Stats Maximum Stats Growth Rates Trivia *It is unclear if Dark Dragons are a form unique to Earth Dragons or a state that all powerful Dragons can eventually achieve. **''TearRing Saga'' appears to suggest the latter interpretation, though it is not the same continuity as the Fire Emblem series. *The Dark Dragon has no moving animations in the original Mystery of the Emblem. *The artwork for the Darksphere in the TCG depicts it adorned it with a figurehead in the image of a Dark Dragon. Gallery File:Darkness Dragon TCG.jpg|A Level 20 Dark Dragon, as it appears in the sixth series of the TCG. File:Mediuth2.gif|Portrait of Medeus as a Dark Dragon in Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem. File:DarkMedeus.png|Portrait of Medeus as a Dark Dragon in New Mystery of the Emblem. File:MarthVsMedeus.jpg|Marth battling Dark Dragon Medeus in Mystery of the Emblem. File:Loptous fe4.png|Loptous's spirit in Genealogy of the Holy War. File:Gerxel.png|Gerxel in his Dark Dragon form in TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga. File:Gerxel Battle Animation.gif|Gerxel's battle animation in TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga. File:Shadow Dragon Medeus (FE12).png|Medeus as a Dark Dragon in New Mystery of the Emblem. File:FE3 Mage Dragon Map Sprite.png|Map sprite of the Dark Dragon class from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. File:Dark dragon.PNG|Map sprite of the Dark Dragon class from TearRing Saga. FE12 Dark Dragon Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the Dark Dragon class from New Mystery of the Emblem.